I hope those are free range pigs

(the other guy not the one that gave you coochie warts, Tue 29 Jan 2013, 2:13, 1 reply)

Certainly not.
Freedom's too good for 'em.
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Tue 29 Jan 2013, 2:25, closed)

Pork in Canada is so cheap
I don't even bother with bread, I just slap mustard on slices of tenderloin.
Must be tough to turn a profit raising pigs though.
(the other guy not the one that gave you coochie warts, Tue 29 Jan 2013, 2:39, closed)

Naturally, there is no profit.
At least very little for most of us.
I'm faring slightly better in that my swinelets are exported south of the border and we get a contracted price for them.
Other parts of the business are not so lucky. At the mercy of inflated feed prices, a processing and distribution system that makes money for everyone but the producer and intense competitive pressure, the industry is a joke.

It's still better than the UK though.

There is a cyclical system of profit and doom in the pig industry, so we'll probably make some serious money again if we can sustain the losses for another year or two.
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Tue 29 Jan 2013, 3:25, closed)

Why do you say feed prices
are inflated?

They're based on the commodity markets. Those are driven by lots of factors, not least of all oil prices.

Your pigfood is also used to make fuel. That's what's making it expensive.
(username failed moderation, Tue 29 Jan 2013, 11:43, closed)

I say inflated because they have risen by a significant amount.
You're right of course, they are a commodity like everything else.
In north America it is the decision to use corn as a biofuel source which has inflated the price of this commodity. That and a poor harvest which has decreased availability.But you can't eat biofuel and animal food here has a strong bias towards corn (maize)
Maize isn't a staple in Europe so things are different there but still the feed input to pig production has increased from about 40% of cost of production to around 70%.
Interestingly the Chinese government once infamous for poor decisions in food policy, looked at this idea and decided that making a staple food crop into fuel , in the face of a growing population, would have been a bad choice and have avoided it. I think the premier used the word "mad".
The times are a changin'.
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Tue 29 Jan 2013, 12:13, closed)

All makes sense,
although I'm not sure how far the Chinese governments pragmatic approach will stretch if oil prices start shooting up again.

'course the other big factor is the idiots on Wall street. They can drive the markets up or down by 20% after a boozy lunch.
(username failed moderation, Tue 29 Jan 2013, 12:43, closed)